Pope Francis "astonished" by assault on U.S. Capitol

Pope Francis said on Saturday he was "astonished" by the attack on the U.S. Capitol earlier this week by supporters of President Donald Trump, and denounced the violence as an assault on democracy.

"I was astonished because they are people so disciplined in democracy," the pontiff told Italy's Canale 5 news channel in his first public comments on the Washington mayhem.

"There is always something that isn't working … (with) people taking a path against the community, against democracy, against the common good," he said.